Celebrating the winner of the Best Lightning Talk award at the Aquatic Ecology SIG Annual Meeting 2026, Sarah Sandor!

We’re delighted to celebrate the winner of Functional Ecology’s sponsored prize for the Best Lightning Talk award at the Aquatic Ecology SIG Annual Meeting 2026, Sarah Sandor (she/her)! Read Sarah’s blog post on Relational Thinking, The People and Nature Blog, where she shares the behind the scene details of her prize-winning research, highlights from her academic career so far, and reflections on her experience attending … Continue reading Celebrating the winner of the Best Lightning Talk award at the Aquatic Ecology SIG Annual Meeting 2026, Sarah Sandor!

Solomon Maerowitz-McMahan: From Ashes to Insights: Mycorrhizal Fungi Role in Post-Fire Landscapes

It’s been just over a month since the 12th International Conference on Mycorrhiza. In these blog posts, we hear from some of the winners of Functional Ecology’s poster and talk prizes! Here, Solomon Maerowitz-McMahan – who won our first place prize for his talk “From ashes to insights: mycorrhizal fungi role in post-fire landscapes” – discusses navigating his first conference, the joys of both lab and field work, … Continue reading Solomon Maerowitz-McMahan: From Ashes to Insights: Mycorrhizal Fungi Role in Post-Fire Landscapes

Leonardo Castanedo on Thriving Together at ICOM12: Unraveling Nutrient Dynamics and Insights on Ericoid Mycorrhizal Symbiosis and lessons therein

It’s been just over a month since the 12th International Conference on Mycorrhiza. In these blog posts, we hear from some of the winners of Functional Ecology’s poster and talk prizes! Here, Leonardo Castanedo – who won our second place prize for his talk ‘Thriving together: unravelling nutrient dynamics regulating ericoid mycorrhizal symbiosis‘ – shares insights into his research, his experience at the conference, and … Continue reading Leonardo Castanedo on Thriving Together at ICOM12: Unraveling Nutrient Dynamics and Insights on Ericoid Mycorrhizal Symbiosis and lessons therein

Beatrice Bock: Becoming a scientist wasn’t a mistake, just a happy little accident

It’s been just over a month since the 12th International Conference on Mycorrhiza. In these blog posts, we hear from some of the winners of Functional Ecology’s poster and talk prizes! Here, Beatrice Bock – who won our second place prize for her poster ‘Common mycorrhizal networks: exploring the “dark web“‘ – discusses her journey from business to ecology. She makes the case for pursuing … Continue reading Beatrice Bock: Becoming a scientist wasn’t a mistake, just a happy little accident